The Source
Christopher Metzler
Professor Albert
Honors DNY Coastal NYC
12 May 2021
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The Making of the Surgical Mask
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An item which has only recently become as commonplace as the shoes on our feet or the shirts on our chests is the mask. Specifically, surgical masks have become one of the most widely used types of masks in the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is generally due to the low-cost and relatively high efficacy of the surgical mask. Despite these face-coverings being so common however, most people, including myself until completing this project, really know what the surgical mask is made from, where those materials are obtained, how the mask is manufactured, and many other factors in the production and disposal of the surgical mask.
Surgical masks first began circulating in the U.S. in the 1960s during a time in which many medical utilities were being geared toward single-use instead of reusable. This included syringes, needles, trays, and surgical instruments, and was done primarily for a higher grade or sterility, to reduce labor costs, and in response to the high market demand for convenient disposables. Since this time, surgical masks have remained relatively stagnant and uniform in their design as the blue and white mask that we all know (especially today). A surgical mask is composed of three layers, ear loops, and sometimes even a metal wire on the inside around the nose area to assist in clamping down and fitting to the wearer’s face. Let us first examine the layers to the mask itself. The inside white layer which you wear on the mouth side is a soft, spun-bond, non-woven, absorbent variant of the material polypropylene (and in some cases a staple fabric such as cotton) which is used for capturing the exhaled water molecules in the wearer’s breath whether from a sneeze, cough, or simply talking and breathing. The middle later is also a polypropylene layer; however, this layer is melt-blown, meaning it is manufactured in a way that sticks together the layers of polypropylene to form a very dense layer that excellently filters bacteria such as Staphylococcus (Staph infection- a very common bacterium) with a space between the fibers of 1 to 5 microns. Lastly, the outer colored layer is also non-woven polypropylene, however, it is made to be hydrophobic and repel liquids from the outside by also being spun-bond.
Moving to the other components of the mask, the loops are also made typically of elastic polypropylene, and the nose wire is aluminum. As polypropylene is the main material for manufacturing surgical masks, it is important to understand where exactly it is obtained. Polypropylene is made from the polymerization of propene/methyl-ethylene. Propene (a form of propane) is primarily obtained through a process known as “steam cracking” of another chemical mixture known as naphtha, and this process is a “petrochemical process in which saturated hydrocarbons are broken down into smaller, often unsaturated, hydrocarbons. It is the principal industrial method for producing lighter alkenes (olefins), including ethene (or ethylene) and propene (or propylene)” (ScienceDirect.com). In regard to scarcity, propene is found from combustion from forest fires, cigarette smoke, and motor vehicle/aircraft exhaust, and so in addition to synthetically creating it with naphtha, it is not a resource in low supply for the near future. Even as those mentioned sources are phased out due to environmental concerns, there is no data that suggests that propene is in short supply. Furthermore, as propene is a form of propane, there has been much research done stating that it itself is safe for the environment and not a pollutant via air pollution or a greenhouse gas. With this in mind, it is safe to say that propane/propene/polypropylene is not a scarce resource.
As for the aluminum utilized in the nose piece, it is not a highly scarce resource, but it certainly has a finite amount of time left until we "run out" of it in the Earth. One study from the UN TEEB, an international pro-environmental activist organization, estimates that aluminum may run dry in about 70 years from now (80 at the time of the study in 2012). This is a frightening reality, as multitudes of products use aluminum, especially electronics, and require it for basic functionality. Moreover, common everyday items such as surgical masks which take advantage of aluminum's flexibility and lightness will have to find a replacement. With this in mind, it may be prudent for manufacturers to begin researching possible substitutes for aluminum that are more plentiful. Lastly, as environmental care becomes more and more critical with the onset of climate change, recycling also becomes more and more crucial, and aluminum is no exception. According to the EPA, 670,000 U.S. tons of aluminum was recycled in 2018, however, 2,660,000 tons ended up in landfills. Thankfully, the amount of aluminum recycled has increased over the years, primarily from 1980-1990 and during the 2010s, but the amount of aluminum being thrown away is still much too high. If we can successfully recycle the majority of aluminum, the amount of time we have left using it will be much longer, and less of a concern for those who use aluminum based products.
The vast majority of surgical masks which are used in the U.S. are manufactured in China due to cheaper costs as well as higher supply of polypropylene - the total annual production of propene is 94 million tons, and the leading region is Asia/Pacific with 27 million tons. It is unknown exactly how China chooses to obtain their propene, and due to their questionable track record of worker’s rights, it is also unknown how socially and economically just it actually is for China’s propene production to continue. Moreover, the manufacturing of propene and into polypropylene is harmful to the environment not due to the polypropylene itself, but rather due to the factories and machinery required, which utilize fossil fuels to operate and thus excrete more carbon dioxide and other carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Furthermore, as polypropylene is a type of plastic, when it is discarded in the garbage, it contributes to a great deal of landfills, sea pollution, soil pollution, etc.
The process of how the surgical mask is assembled is relatively simple, which is one reason they are so cheap to produce. First, a machine which has a large roll for each layer of the mask on a roll rotates and unloads them onto a track, and with an ultrasonic device that uses ultrasonic waves to generate heat, they are melded and pressed together with pleats. The ear loops are then unwound from a roll and cut to the proper length and melded onto the mask to keep them stuck in place with the same ultrasonic machine as prior. After this step, the masks are checked by workers to ensure there are no errors. The masks are then manually or automatically (depending on the factory) packed into bags and boxed to be shipped. As this is a quite short and simple manufacturing process, millions of masks can be produced every day by many large manufacturers such as Sanqi Medical who alone produces three million masks per day. These masks then get shipped to nearby and international recipients such as hospitals, other medical facilities, or sold online for consumer consumption.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries in Asia already used surgical masks to combat the higher concentration of air pollution as well as to prevent others from getting sick if one was ill. Because of this, Asian countries such as Japan and China are some of the biggest buyers of these face masks, and now the U.S. is importing more than ever before due to COVID-19, so many in fact that there has been a shortage of them at high peaks of COVID-19 cases at various times. Luckily, there are also several manufacturers in America. The largest three are: Cardinal Health (Dublin, OH), 3M (Saint Paul, MN), and Kimberly-Clark (Dallas, TX). This of course helps to ensure that we are not solely dependent on China or other countries to produce surgical masks in times of crisis. With this all in mind, it is clear that surgical masks are a product which emphasizes how such a simple design can be so effective. Further, it demonstrates that human ingenuity and science is one of humanity's greatest tools, as masks protect millions of people daily from becoming ill, whether from a coworker with the common cold, or the frightening reality of COVID-19. With the shockingly small number of source materials, surgical masks save countless lives and now more than ever, have become a staple in many family gatherings, whether summer barbecues, graduations, or weddings. This is why it is important that we acknowledge the work that goes into something which we may sometimes take for granted and properly appreciate how it ended up from the air and from the ground all the way to our face.
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Availability of Aluminum and Other Resources in the Near Future
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Amount of Aluminum Recycled Throughout the Years (EPA)
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Works Cited
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Armbrust, Lloyd. “What Are Surgical Masks Made Out Of? [Video].” Armbrust American, Armbrust American, 14 Oct. 2020, www.armbrustusa.com/blogs/news/usa-made-face-masks-materials.
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Boehm, Eric. “FDA Will Lift Restrictions on Face Mask Imports, Toppling Another Pointless Regulation.” Reason.com, Reason, 3 Apr. 2020, reason.com/2020/04/03/fda-will-lift-restrictions-on-face-mask-imports-toppling-another-pointless-regulation/.
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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Naphtha". Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Dec. 2007, https://www.britannica.com/science/naphtha. Accessed 12 May 2021.
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Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Polypropylene". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Dec. 2017, https://www.britannica.com/science/polypropylene. Accessed 12 May 2021.
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Chua, Ming Hui, et al. “Face Masks in the New COVID-19 Normal: Materials, Testing, and Perspectives.” Research (Washington, D.C.), AAAS, 7 Aug. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7429109/.
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EPA. “Aluminum: Material-Specific Data.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 7 Oct. 2020, www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures- about-materials-waste-and-recycling/aluminum-material-specific-data.
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Henneberry, Brittany. “How Surgical Masks Are Made, Tested and Used.” , Tested and Used, Thomas, www.thomasnet.com/articles/other/how-surgical-masks-are-made/#_How_are_Surgical.
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“Inside China's Biggest Mask Factory.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Mar. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gc074FxOBA4.
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“How Surgical Masks Are Made & Benefits.” Safar Medical, 5 Jan. 2021, safarmedical.com/en/medical-articles/how-surgical-masks- are-made-benefits-safar-medical.
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Lee, Kevin. “What Effects Does Propane Have on the Environment?” Sciencing, 2 Mar. 2019, sciencing.com/effects-propane- environment-16139.html.
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“Medical Face Mask Making Machine | Mask Production Line | Mask Production Machine | TESTEX(Updated).” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Mar. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9m5qM54vCk.
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“Meltblown Fabric: Meltblown Cloth: Meltblown Nonwoven.” Testex, 1 Jan. 2021, www.testextextile.com/product/meltblown-fabric/.
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Nuwer, Rachel. “What Is the World's Scarcest Material?” BBC Future, BBC, 17 Mar. 2014, www.bbc.com/future/article/20140314- the-worlds-scarcest-material.
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“Propene.” Infogalactic, 27 Nov. 2015, 07:48, infogalactic.com/info/Propene.
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Propene (Propylene), The Essential Chemical Industry - Online, 26 Jan. 2017, www.essentialchemicalindustry.org/chemicals/propene.html.
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SonitekCorp. “How Surgical N95 Face Mask Are Made Using Ultrasonic Welding By Sonitek.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Mar. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx-RRrGtTmw.
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“Steam Cracking.” Steam Cracking - an Overview | ScienceDirect Topics, 2019, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/steam- cracking.
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Strasser, Bruno J, and Thomas Schlich. “A History of the Medical Mask and the Rise of Throwaway Culture.” Lancet (London, England), Elsevier Ltd., 4 July 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7255306/.
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Todd, Wendy. “Mask Materials Matter.” Idaho STEM, Mar. 2020.
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Top Surgical Masks Suppliers, Thomas, 2019, www.thomasnet.com/articles/top-suppliers/surgical-mask-manufacturer-suppliers/.
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UN TEEB. “US Geological Survey.” BBC, 2012, www.bbc.com/future/article/20120618-global-resources-stock-check.
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“What Is the Melt Blown Fabric That the World Is Looking for?” Woven.com, 7 Aug. 2020, www.non-woven.com/what-is-the-melt- blown-fabric/.
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“[FACE MASK]How Face Mask Are Made?Biggest Mask Factory in China.” YouTube, YouTube, 28 June 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd95v7m978Q.
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